I am thinking of buying a carport shade canopy structure for our camp this year and had a couple questions:

1) What is the best brand to go with? Is CostCo best or are they all similar in quality? Any recommendations on where to buy?

2) What is needed to make these playa-ready? Do they come with guy lines or do they need to be attached manually? How many pieces of rebar are required? Does anyone have a photo of one in action on the playa?

Any Costco carport will be fine. Use 8 pieces of rebar (one for each leg). Really tie it down good with good rope. I've used one on the playa for 5 years now and it's still in good condition. They only cost around 190-200 dollars.

Costco carports have the thick metal legs. Do not buy a cheap one from autozone with skinny aluminum legs. It will break during the first big windstorm. Good luck!

I have long since ditched the heavy ass vinyl roof and walls of mine and utilize heavy duty tarps on the roof held on with bungee balls and wrap the walls in shade fabric. A double wall of shade fabric still allows the structure to "breathe" and cuts down on the dust invasion enormously.

I secure mine with the big ass orange groundstakes from Home Despot and ratchet straps.

I'll be trying something new this year as well. Instead of 2 20 foot long carports, I'm going to put 2 sections over our village potties and shade them and put 4 sections together for our kitchen, dining area.

CapSmashy wrote:2 Costco carport frames making their 4th trek to the Playa this year.

I have long since ditched the heavy ass vinyl roof and walls of mine and utilize heavy duty tarps on the roof held on with bungee balls and wrap the walls in shade fabric. A double wall of shade fabric still allows the structure to "breathe" and cuts down on the dust invasion enormously.

I secure mine with the big ass orange groundstakes from Home Despot and ratchet straps.

I'll be trying something new this year as well. Instead of 2 20 foot long carports, I'm going to put 2 sections over our village potties and shade them and put 4 sections together for our kitchen, dining area.

Hey Cap, I thought I saw something about you coming in style this year... What did ya get??? I have RV-envies.

I love car ports.
Depending on storage/cargo space depends on what type of legs you want. I prefer the ones from costco with the single piece legs, just cause its one less piece to have to put together. But you also need a 6 foot long storage area. Not really a problem with any sort of truck or van, but could be a pain if your just bringing a car. I have a Shelter Logic that has two piece legs. It packs down smaller and I can fit the whole thing into two 36" long duffel bags I got at the Army Surplus. Only reason I got the shelter logic is that I picked up off craig's list a couple months ago for $75 bucks.
I also found, last year, that darker colored ones(like CostCo used to sell, maybe they're still the same) stay cooler during the day cause less light comes through the top. My Shelter Logic is bright white, and I don't know how much UV it will block. So, I'm going to stick with the original roof, but I'm adding some of the good UV blocking tarp under the roof, but above the roof joist and ridge poles.
For stakes, get some rebar 18" long, I went with 3/8 (can be found at the local big box hardware). Put about 6" in a vice bend it to about 90 degrees, then as you start to bend it more, beat the hell out of it (near the vice), so that it makes a nice check mark shape and not a candy cane. If it is a check mark shape its easier to beat it into the dirt, cause you can hit it flat on with a hammer. Also consider taking an extra piece of rebar and bending it in the middle to make a real lazy V shape. It can be hooked under the rebar, grabbed on both sides and a good strong standing up motion will pull the stakes out at the end of the week (remember to keep your back straight as you stand up).
I'm with CapSmashy on the ratchet straps (I might also be with him on the orange steaks, I haven't seen these yet, but they're probably worth checking out). If you look around for ratchet straps, you can find bright yellow or orange ones, that have a reflective thread woven through each edge of the strap. I feel that this is reflective enough, that I don't light my straps. Make sure they have metal ratchets, plastic ratchets work fine for stuff just being held down to a pallet for shipping inside a trailer, but they wont stand up to the sun and heat. Get the straps as tight as possible then ratchet them tell their super tight. Then in wind storms watch corners of your carport magically hoover an inch off the ground but not go anywhere.

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave

for Costco carports, I take 3' long rebar and pound it halfway into the ground directly adjacent to each leg. Then wrap rebar to support leg thoroughly with duct tape. This is a tip I picked up here on ePlaya and which has worked without a hitch during 2008's infamous all-day whiteouts and in 2009. DOnt have to bend anyhting, just use ice grips and twist rebar out of ground when leaving.

Or better yet, get 12 inch nails with washers and pound them through the holes in the feet of the legs, never have to fuck with rebar breaking or bending over the years, and never have to fuck with duct tape either.

11 years doing it and never had it come up at all.

We have an obligation to make space for everyone, we have no obligation to make that space pleasant.

I used 3 shelter logic carports last year.. 2 side by side with the center walls removed and 1 attached sideways in front as my bar and public area...
the costco carports are FAR stronger and use much heavier materials, larger diameter poles and will last for many Burns, the shelter logic ones have already had wall and roof grommets pull out and several of the plastic feet have cracked...
I agree with the costco ones heavier material providing more UV protection thus cooler temps.. my neighbors had a costco one and it was definately cooler... plus they seal up far better and less dust will blow in..
as far as stakes.. I have used rebarr but a campmate brought a bunch of 12"-14" eye bolts and they worked fantastic !! I believe he got them at Harbor Freight...
we used 2 for each corner and 1 mid length, tied rope from them to the top of the wall/roof frames and never had any problems, regular tent stakes can be used at each pole base to keep them from sliding..
I did park my 10' budget rental truck as a wind break though...
one might want to consider cutting holes and sewing in shade material at the center peak under the eaves so hot air can exhaust instead of build up inside... make sure the vents are on the downwind side !!

We were ging to take 3 pop-up 10x10 shade structures, place them next to our RV and secure them with Rebar on the legs and guidelines. But this thread is making me nervous. Would we also have to buy camo netting or something? I have shade cloth but only enough for the sides.

We were ging to take 3 pop-up 10x10 shade structures, place them next to our RV and secure them with Rebar on the legs and guylines. But this thread is making me nervous. Would we also have to buy camo netting or something? I have shade cloth but only enough for the sides.

it all depends on what you can afford and how you build your camp relative to the wind. by the time i finish typing this a handful of people will post all kinds of fear based reasons to not bring structures with poles smaller than 2 inch steel. because of the weight those are definitely better if you can afford them.

i've brought structures like the one you posted that have been fine but needed smart guy line tying. the best is to go from the top all the way down to the playa for max support. if you position your RV to block the wind and tie it down good you should be totally fine.

Teo del Fuego wrote:for Costco carports, I take 3' long rebar and pound it halfway into the ground directly adjacent to each leg. Then wrap rebar to support leg thoroughly with duct tape. This is a tip I picked up here on ePlaya and which has worked without a hitch during 2008's infamous all-day whiteouts and in 2009. DOnt have to bend anyhting, just use ice grips and twist rebar out of ground when leaving.

This is a great way to go - we first wrap the legs of the carport with clear plastic wrap, then duct tape to the rebar - removeable with one swipe of a knife or scissors and no sticky duct tape residue.

Teo del Fuego wrote:for Costco carports, I take 3' long rebar and pound it halfway into the ground directly adjacent to each leg. Then wrap rebar to support leg thoroughly with duct tape. This is a tip I picked up here on ePlaya and which has worked without a hitch during 2008's infamous all-day whiteouts and in 2009. DOnt have to bend anyhting, just use ice grips and twist rebar out of ground when leaving.

This is a great way to go - we first wrap the legs of the carport with clear plastic wrap, then duct tape to the rebar - removeable with one swipe of a knife or scissors and no sticky duct tape residue.

Thats genius!

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave

playagoddess wrote:We were ging to take 3 pop-up 10x10 shade structures, place them next to our RV and secure them with Rebar on the legs and guidelines. But this thread is making me nervous. Would we also have to buy camo netting or something? I have shade cloth but only enough for the sides.

I'd say go for it! Thats a pretty good price. If you think it will ship in time.
The poles are a little thin. But the poles on the EZ pop ups are pretty small too.
I like that it has six removable window walls, so that any one section could be easly rolled up for people watching, or venting.
Remember that with windows like that people can see in, so don't do anything stupid in front of the windows

And guy the hell out of it!
Cause they make a pretty good point of telling you it might get broken in the wind. The disclaimer at the bottom regarding wind, is a little long winded, so be very careful.

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave

For the price that caport on amazon that playagoddess linked looks way too flimsy. I would pass that up and go to costco and pick up one with nice sturdy 2 inch metal legs. Judging from the images in the link, it doesn't look like it would hold up very well. I picture that thing being caved in by Wednesday but YMMV.

This seems to be unpopular, but the DPW use them...T posts. They are heavy, and a bitch to pull, but no guylines needed! Buy a post pounder, a removal tool, a jack and duct tape. Your carport isn't going anywhere.

With the sad demise of the availability of costco carports and northpole party shades, I went with this guy.

Obviously I need to add rebar on the poles, rope for the roof, and duct tape everywhere for reinforcement. That oughta hold? I hope? If this thing is too flimsy and I'm kidding myself, I could still return it for a more expensive option.

Should I buy the "enclosure kit" - i.e. the sidewalls - or is there a cheaper DIY option? Shadecloth with gromits? Aluminet or camo cloth?

Costco no longer carrying carports ??
thats new to me, I just bought one last week...
they are a seasonal item up here (Ak) but I know friends in the states that just recently bought new ones too....
I used Shelter Logic ones last year and there is NO comparison...
walls out of shade cloth would be nice but then you'll get far more dust, the Shelter Logic ones coverings don't overlap nearly as much as the Costco brand so lots of gaps and thinnner material so you'll get more heat thru them... I also have had many grommets pull out...
they are better than nothing IMHO but you'll see the difference with them side by side... I am going to replace mine with Costco ones next year...

FIGJAM wrote:How come you put the cross bracing on the open side instead of on the canopy side?

It seems you could have the same strength and still leave those sections open.

We could, the straight down behind doesn't take up space. The cross X cuts through the air space and takes up room which we normally need open. The back section is sloped differently than the section between the legs in front. We know it blocks the section, we don't want it open, we cover the X and use it as a privacy wall for a tent. We usually have two of these carports facing each other, with an open shade space in between (doubled camo netting over an EZ up frame). The three components make one consolidated shade structure; not open to the street, you have to go through the entryway we make.